“Nourishment is a cluster of pills.”
Bobby frowned at the thought of just eating pills instead of food. It now made sense how the two acted at mealtime.
“You eat our food,” Bobby said, questioning the validity of just eating pills for nourishment.
“Yes, and it has been most enjoyable. But the idea of waitressing has Jane scared.”
Bobby turned to Jane, who looked at him with wide eyes and then spouted her objection. “I am a commander. I do not serve people. They serve me.”
Bobby turned to John. All he did was nod his head. “She is right. It is not appropriate, as you would say, for her to serve food to others,” John said with a look of concern.
“I cannot tell Jenny she won’t go to work with her tomorrow. You’re lucky she lets you stay here.”
“Can’t she do something else?” John asked.
Bobby frowned for a moment. He did not know how to explain to John the importance of Jane working so that Jenny let them continue staying there. Otherwise, there was no place for them to go.
“Waitressing is easy,” Bobby said as if that was enough to explain the argument away.
Jane turned to Bobby. “What do you do?”
Bobby raised his hands. He walked over to the dresser. Thought for a moment and then turned to the two, who were just sitting on the end of the beds watching him closely.
“Okay,” he said finally. “It’s like this. Let’s say our kitchen is the café. You walk in. After you sit down, Jenny hands you a menu.”
“What is a menu?” Jane asked.
Bobby sighed deeply. “That is something that lists all the food that you serve at the café. There’s usually a little slip of paper clipped to the top that lets you know what the specials are.”
“What is special?” John asked.
“That’s the feature of the day,” Bobby quickly responded. When he glanced at the two and realized what the next question was going to be, he quickly added, “The cook makes a lot of one item and offers it at a good price, hoping that a lot of people will want it, eliminating him having to cook different foods during the day. Does that make sense?”
Both nodded their agreement to what Bobby asked. With that, Bobby picked up a couple of pieces of paper off the dresser. He walked over to Jane, handed her one piece and then gave John the other. He motioned them to look at the items.
“Okay, the menu has everything that is being served here. You pick out what you want to eat. You do know how to read?” Bobby asked.
Jane looked up at him. “I am a quick study. Before entering your atmosphere I connected to your Library of Congress and had inputted all your books into my memory cells,” she said nonchalantly.
“Wow. I would like to tap into your motherboard,” Bobby added.
Jane turned to John. “Interpret.”
Bobby waved his hand to get their attention. “Let’s not get sidetracked here.”
Bobby pointed to the make-believe menu and then continued, “You let me know what you want to eat. I write it down.” Bobby pretended to write something on the paper he was holding. “I then give it to the cook.”
“What is the cook?”
“That’s the person who will prepare your food.”
“Why can’t I be the cook?” Jane asked.
John choked as he tried to hide the fact he found humor in Jane preparing the nourishment for consumption.
“Because they do not need a cook. They need someone to take orders and serve the food. Hence they need a waitress.”
“Then what do I do after I serve the food.”
“If they ordered coffee, you make sure you keep their coffee cup full.”
“Why can’t they do it themselves?”
“Because it is your job to do it.”
“Sounds counter-productive.”
Bobby shook his head. “That is the way it is.”
“This does not sound like a challenging job.”
“It isn’t. That is why it is minimum pay. You will make money if you are pleasant and make sure your blouse has the top three buttons undone.”
“Why?” Jane asked with a puzzled look on her face.
“Just do it, and trust me you will make more money from tips than from your salary.
“So that is all I have to do?”
“It may help if you roll your hips while you walk.”
Both look puzzled at Bobby, who walked across the room and exaggerated rolling his hips as he walked. John’s eyes widened when Jane got up and mimicked Bobby. However, she was more seductive, and John could not take his eyes off of Jane’s behind.
CHAPTER 15
It had been a long day for the men at Area 51. High alert meant more men on sentry duty and more extended hours for everyone on the base. Colonel Crimshaw had spent hours going over the maps of the area and the coordinates. Why they never found anything of substance was beyond everyone’s belief, given the fact they were on top of the signal as soon as it appeared on the radar screen. It was evident something hit the television studio that brought it down. Moreover, the two technicians on duty during the incident were no help, as neither claimed to have seen anything. Both claimed to have jumped for cover.
The Colonel was in his ex-wife’s housedress. Something he wore it at night to bring him closer to her. Plus the fact he found them comfortable. He sat there in his old recliner with a beer nearby. The other hand had the remote while watching a Fox New commentary, his favorite way to end the day. Slowly he scratched his crotch and then grabbed the can of beer off the end table. He was about to take a swig of the beer when the doorbell interrupted him. He pushed himself off the recliner. It was his free time, and he had given orders not to disturb him unless it was important. He only hoped whoever it was, knew what they were getting into.
As the door swung open, the young radar operator stepped back quickly with a surprised look on his face at seeing the Colonel in the housedress. He saluted the Colonel and then handed him the file.
“Lt. Jasper asked me to give you this.”
Colonel Crimshaw looked annoyed at the interruption as he accepted the folder, quickly opened it, and read the report.
“This was hours ago. Why wasn’t I notified earlier,” the Colonel snapped.
The radar operator shrugged. It did not happen on his watch. It was only through going over previous transmissions that the beeps on the radar screen were discovered. And that was only by accident.
“We thought it was a glitch in the system.”
“It wasn’t your call to make.”
The radar operator swallowed hard and then stepped back. “I’ll pass on the word. It won’t happen again.”
Quickly the radar operator saluted the Colonel and then turned and hurried away. Under his breath he mumbled, “Nice dress.”
The Colonel, realizing the housedress he was wearing, quickly slammed the door shut and then threw the file folder across the room.
The sun shined brightly over the desert sky with not a cloud in sight. The weatherman had been forecasting rain for days now, but the hot desert air materialized nothing, and the land was becoming more barren than ever before.
Elmer was up early. He had made a pot of coffee and was on his second cup when Jenny walked into the kitchen. She glanced at him sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper.
“Are you okay, Pa?” she asked.
Elmer looked up with a surprised look. “Birthday cake. Whose birthday is it?” he asked.
Jenny spoke louder. “No. Are you feeling okay?” she asked again.
“Why are you shouting?”
Jenny ignored the question, and just walked over to where he sat and put her hand on his shoulder. “The package yesterday. Bobby said it was from a pharmaceutical company.”
Elmer got up and walked over to the sink with his cup of coffee. He dumped the remainder of the coffee down the drain and then turned to Jenny.